OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

[56 rude]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

Interesting thread!Me ,i was a merc guy for years then i bought a 1982 90 evinrude about 5 years back and have never regretted it for 1 second.Istupidly worked on it for about 5 minutes without the muffs on before i realised what i did and almost died of a heartattack right there.Bought a new pump ,took lower unit apart ,put back together and put the new pump in the toolbox!Old one looked like bran-new and that was 5 years ago now!Ive recently got the classic omc bug bad !Several 1950 era ones and one 1939-1940 22.5 hp evinrude that i thought id have to redo but she runs like she just came off the showroom floor.While most guys advance to newer modles i seem to be going the other way,lol.Id proably buy a classic merc but i prefer omc just becase im comfertable working on them and i seem to find parts pretty easily though the 22.5 would be a challange to find parts for.Just took apart the ignition system on the oldie ,talk about flintstones!If and i mean if i had to buy a new one id go e-tc first ,yamaha hpdi next, then merc.One thing i wont do is put somebodys motor down ,it maybe the one that helps me get off the water someday.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

i am an OMC man, have owned serveral mercs, never had good service from them, and always say i will never buy another one. one the older mercs, i find far to many NLA necessary parts. especially electrical parts.

 

[56 rude]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

i am an OMC man, have owned serveral mercs, never had good service from them, and always say i will never buy another one. one the older mercs, i find far to many NLA necessary parts. especially electrical parts.

how true.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

Never, Absolutely NEVER, arm wrestle a feller that has owned a pull start 20hp Mercury for a few years. He WILL win.
JBJ

 

[mhlbnghm]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

I've had several of both over the years. Not a single problem with any of them.
Maybe I've just been living right

JMB

 

[ziemann]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

Nothing like resuscitating a 3 year old thread.... How funny that even though this thread is 3 years old...we're still having the same debate!

I had to go back and look at how I responded to this thread even back 3 years ago...

 

[coolguy147]

Re: OMC vs MERCURY MERC MORE RELIABLE?

Johnson had made 2-million by 1959, whereas Merc hit their first million in late 1956 or 1957. Evinrude again had similar numbers to Johnson, so by the end of the 1950s you had over 4-million OMCs to maybe 1.5 million Mercs. Merc hit 2-mllion in 1966, and three million in 1971, if you go by their published serial number lists. <br /><br />Reason #2: OMCs are more able to be worked on by a basic shadetree/backyard mechanic. Most models don't require any fancy tools to disassemble them, and they're not hard to reassemble correctly. Mercs, on the other hand, are noted for needing a special wrench for this, puller for that, gauge for this and shimming tool for that. The level of competence needed to acquire or cobble up these tools is a bit higher, and is often enough to relegate a comparably simple "fix" to the curb. A good example of this is take a 1959 Evinrude 10hp and change the impeller... the clock is ticking... might take a seasoned mech 15-minutes, and even a shadetree can probably handle it in under an hour with a good manual. Same year, 1959 Merc model Mark 15A... the clock is ticking... a seasoned mechanic might be able to do it in an hour, with all the proper tools and shim gauges. A backyarder has killed the better part of a sixpack and still hasn't even found where the impeller is located. And when he DOES find it, located way up in the exhaust housing and requiring a special tool to get at it, he thows one of the empty bottles at the motor and starts thinking about how good of an anchor it could be...<br /><br />NEITHER of these reasons for the post differential is a direct correlation to whether or not one is more reliable than the other....<br /><br />- Scott[/QUOTE]

lol i havee a 1959 10hp evinrude and a 1961 merc500 parts easily avaible for a evinrude back then and now. im 13 and im working on the evinrude having a great time doing it too. in the process learning about motors. i do all the maitenence by my self. and i like working on the evinrude like meantioned before it ease and simplicity